NGX lifts suspension on Guinea Insurance, as investors lose N846bn

The Nigerian Exchange Ltd. (NGX) has lifted the suspension placed on trading in the shares of Guinea Insurance Plc, effective Aug. 12.

NGX, in its weekly report made available to newsmen in Lagos, confided that the suspension was lifted because the insurer had filed its audited financial statements for the year ended Dec. 31, 2023.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that NGX, in its Market Bulletin dated July 8 with Reference Number: NGXREG/IRD/MB35/24/07/08, notified Trading License Holders and the investing public of the suspension on the securities of Guinea Insurance Plc.

The Exchange said this was in line with the provisions of Rule 3.1: which is on the rules for filing of accounts and the treatment of default filing.

It said that the rule provides, “If an Issuer fails to file the relevant accounts by the expiration of the Cure Period, the Exchange will send to the Issuer a “Second Filing Deficiency Notification” within two business days after the end of the Cure Period.

“Suspend trading in the Issuer’s securities and notify the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Market 24 hours of the suspension”.

“In view of the company’s submission of its 2023 AFS, and pursuant to Rule 3.3 of the Default Filing Rules, which states that the suspension of trading in the issuer’s securities shall be lifted upon submission of the relevant accounts provided,. The Exchange is satisfied that the accounts comply with all applicable rules of the Exchange.”

On trading, the NGX All-Share Index and Market Capitalisation depreciated by 1.51 per cent to close the week at 97,100.31 and N55.132 trillion, respectively, against 98,592.12 and N55.978 trillion.

Consequently, investors lost a total of N846 billion from their portfolios.

Similarly, all other indices finished lower with the exception of NGX Insurance, NGX Consumer Goods, NGX Oil and Gas, NGX Lotus II and NGX Growth, which appreciated by 0.79, 0.37, 5.25, 0.42, and 6.14 per cent respectively, while the NGX ASeM index closed flat.

Thirty-nine equities appreciated in price during the week, lower than 46 equities in the previous week.

Sixty-six equities depreciated in price, higher than 38 in the previous week, while forty-six equities remained unchanged, lower than 67 recorded in the previous week.

On the losers’ table, Cutix Plc led 65 other declined equities by N1.05 to close at N4.95 per share, while RT Briscoe led 38 other advanced equities by 33.86 per cent to close at N1.70 per share.

Also, investors traded a total of 2.033 billion shares worth N42.155 billion in 45,157 deal, in contrast to 2.679 billion shares valued at N49.017 billion that exchanged hands last week in 47,451 deals on the floor of the Exchange.

The Financial Services industry, measured by volume, led the activity chart with 1.377 billion shares valued at N25.652 billion traded in 20,132 deals; thus contributing 67.73 and 60.85 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value, respectively.

The Oil and Gas Industry followed with 276.729 million shares worth N6.026billion in 6,848 deals.

The third place was the Services Industry, with a turnover of 101.217 million shares worth N682.062 million in 2,475 deals.

Trading in the top three equities, namely: Guaranty Trust Holdings Company Plc, Veritas Kapital Assurance Plc and Japaul Gold & Ventures Plc, measured by volume, accounted for 674.233 million shares worth N16,055 billion in 3,977 deals.

These contributed 33.16 and 38.08 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value, respectively.

Accessing the week’s trading and predicting performance for the coming week, analysts at Cowry Asset Management Ltd., said the market continued to trade within the value area.

The analysts said that this presents entry opportunities for discerning investors and savvy traders.

They suggested that transaction volume patterns and support levels were signalling further buying opportunities.

According to them, this is even as market participants look ahead to the forthcoming release of the 2024 second quater Groos Domestic Product (GDP) report along with audited half-year earnings and interim dividend declarations.

The researchers also anticipated a mixed performance in the coming week, driven by ongoing portfolio rebalancing and profit-taking activities.

“Nevertheless, we continue to advise investors to focus on fundamentally sound stocks,” the analysts advised.